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Impossible People

A Completely Average Recovery Story
By Julia Wertz
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Check link for latest rating. ( 2,196 ratings, 339 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Impossible People is Julia Wertz's keenly observed graphic memoir detailing her tumultuous five-year journey towards sobriety. Beginning with a startling car crash in Puerto Rico, the narrative unfolds through candid flashbacks of group therapy sessions, relapses, fraught relationships, difficult dates, and eviction from her New York City apartment. Unflinchingly honest and infused with dark humour, the story reveals the non-linear and often absurd challenges of addiction and recovery.
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Format: Hardback
$6000
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This graphic memoir is ideal for readers who appreciate candid, humorous, and nuanced stories about addiction and recovery. Fans of autobiographical comics and those drawn to honest reflections on personal struggle will find Wertz's work engaging and thought-provoking.

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In this unflinching comic memoir celebrated cartoonist and author of the New York Times Notable Book, Tenements, Towers & Trash Julia Wertz chronicles her haphazard attempts at sobriety and the relentlessly challenging, surprisingly funny, and occasionally absurd cycle of addiction and recovery.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In her keenly observed graphic memoir, Impossible People, celebrated cartoonist Julia Wertz chronicles her haphazard attempts at sobriety and the relentlessly challenging, surprisingly funny, and occasionally absurd cycle of addiction and recovery.

Opening at the culmination of a disastrous trip to Puerto Rico, the first page of Impossible People finds Julia standing stupefied in the middle of the jungle beside a rental Jeep she's just crashed. From this moment, the story flashes back to the beginning of her five-year journey towards sobriety that includes group therapy sessions, relapses, an ill-fated relationship, terrible dates, and an unceremonious eviction from her New York City apartment.

Far from the typical addiction narrative that follows an upward trajectory from rock bottom to rehab to recovery, Impossible People portrays the lesser told but more common story: that the road to recovery is not always linear. With unflinching honesty, Wertz details the arduous, frustrating, and hilarious story of trying and failing and trying again.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise Impossible People for its blend of dark humour and sincerity. Lauren Purje of Hyperallergic highlights it as a "uniquely funny depiction" of addiction's isolating cycle. Library Journal calls the book "unflinchingly honest" and "frequently hilarious," recognising Wertz's skillful contrast of sketchy figures and detailed backgrounds. NPR's Tahneer Oksman commends the memoir for its absorbing and vulnerable portrayal of the slow road to sobriety, while Chicago Tribune's Christopher Borrelli appreciates its subtle exploration of heavy themes alongside ordinary moments.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780762468256

Publisher: Running Press,U.S.

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 11 May 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: Running Press Adult

Illustration: 300 Illustrations, black & white

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 34.0mm

Width: 198.0mm

Height: 246.0mm

Weight: 1250g

Pages: 320

Collections

Addiction & Recovery Adult Graphic Novels Fiction Graphic Novels Health & Wellness Julia Wertz Self-Help & Personal Development

About the Author

Julia Wertz is a professional cartoonist, amateur historian, and part-time urban explorer. Her books include The Fart Party, Museum of Mistakes, Drinking at the Movies, The Infinite Wait and Other Stories, and Tenements, Towers, & Trash: An Unconventional, Illustrated History of New York City. She does monthly comics and doodles for the New Yorker and the New York Times. After leaving New York City, she settled down in Northern California with Oliver (yes, that Oliver) and their son, Felix.

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